Desire
by MNKAlimera
Summary: There is an old saying that goes, 'Bad luck comes in threes'. I am the type of person that lives in the moment. Bad luck is a curse that existed to superstitious people and I've broken a couple of compact mirrors in my time and haven't encountered any misfortunes as of yet. It would never happen to me. Little did I know, my luck was certainly going to change. Rated M for Lemons.


**Prologue**

There is an old saying that goes, 'Bad luck always comes in threes'. I never knew the meaning to this until as of recently when I faced with a few challenges that would, inevitably, change the path of my future. I am the type of person that lives in the moment. I welcomed each challenge as an opportunity to grow and learn. Bad luck is a curse that existed to superstitious people and I've broken a couple of compact mirrors in my time and haven't encountered any misfortunes as of yet.

It would never happen to me.

Little did I know, that was another old saying that was going to come and haunt me and luck was just about to change.

**Chapter 1**

It was another exhausting day at the office, at least for me. Edward Baumer, CEO of B&M Brokerage, seemed a lot more stressed than usual. While the phones in the cubicles around me were silent for the last few months, I was busy setting up more presentations than usual and I was organizing last minute transportation in and out of the office him and other executives and managers that I would rarely see on a monthly basis. Another thing I noticed was that Edward was constantly locked in his office and I barely saw him unless I was refilling his coffee. I would transfer call after call from another Executive Assistant on behalf of a rival brokerage in the name of _ChristophsenRoman_.

B&M Brokerage, a partnership with Edward Baumer and Adriano Martins was a well known corporation within the city of Toronto handling portfolios for companies to manage their stocks. It wasn't until a few months ago, Mr. Martins pulled out of the business due to irreconcilable differences with my boss, Mr. Baumer. When Adriano left, he took a lot of business with him which left B&M in a bad spot. Edward Baumer was out to defend himself and while we still had some pretty substantial portfolios in our ends, it wasn't enough to sustain the business. One day, after a long discussion on the phone, Edward emerged from his office and marched towards the glass door leading to the kitchen with a forlorn look in his eye and his shoulders tense. Zoey, the receptionist and a close friend at the front also followed his moves and looked back at me with a shrug. Since then rumours began circulating around the firm about a potential buy out.

Today was no different except that it was almost a quarter to six in the evening and the majority of the staff had already left for the day and the cleaners were rolling their buggies in. Edward was still in his office with his door open ajar which allowed the light from inside to illuminate onto my back and I could somewhat make out the conversation he was having on the phone. It was from the rival brokerage again and he sounded stern and at times desperate. Because of said rumours, some employees already high tailed it out of the company to join others in fear of losing their current job and it was taking a toll on him. I, on the other hand, decided to ride it out and see what the result would be. I was loyal to Edward and B&M as I've worked here for over five years and I loved my job.

Being an Executive Assistant challenged me and I built relationships with people in all different types of areas and developed my own network in the industry. I was sure that, if anything were to happen to B&M Brokerage, Edward will ensure that our colleagues and I were well taken care of.

I sighed and rested my elbow on my desk and placed my hand in my palm and tuned out the conversation. I thought about the phone call from earlier before transferring it to Edward. This call was different from the as it wasn't the sharp high-pitched voice of the Executive Assistant on the line but rather a husky cultured voice of a man that went by the name of Joseph . If the rumours were true and _ChristophsenRoman _did buy out B&M Brokerage, than it was safe to assume that this was the voice of the man that would be taking over the company.

I looked over my shoulder to confirm that Edward's head was turned away from the door and bowed down as he faced his computer screen. I booted up the search engine of my computer and typed in _ChristophsenRoman_ into the field and waited for any hit to appear. From there, it pulled up the main website of the company as well as some articles reporting of expansion of the business to the Toronto area which was where we were located. I furrowed my brows and squinted at the screen as I tried to make out a photo of a group of gentlemen and tried to make a face to the voice to the man on the phone. The setting of the photo was at the annual stock convention a few months ago at the International Convention Centre.

There stood the Mayor of Toronto with several four other suit clad men. Two in particular caught my attention; both were taller than the others but completely different. One was lean with a long jaw and striking blue eyes surrounded by blonde hair combed to the side. The other appeared wider at the shoulders and looked more rugged with wavy dark hair down to collar of his white shirt and an olive skin tone which was mostly hiding under his five o'clock shadow.

Before I could read the caption at the bottom of the picture, I felt a sudden tap on my shoulder. I jumped in

my chair almost spilling my coffee mug over my keyboard while quickly closing the webpage seeing that my boss was standing behind me.

"Jesus, Vivian. I've been trying to get your attention for the last 2 minutes." He grumbled with that forlorn look again in his eye. He adjusted his red tie and smoothed it out under his black blazer after pulling on his trench coat.

"I'm sorry Mr. Baumer, I was just finishing up here." I smiled apologetically at him. His shoulders slumped and he smiled sincerely back with a crinkle near his eyes. He ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair before responding.

"I just e-mailed you an attachment that I need you to print out tomorrow morning. Please make sure there are enough copies for the leaders and execs. Also, I need you to send a mass e-mail to them about an emergency meeting in the boardroom first thing tomorrow morning."

I swiveled in my chair to confirm the new e-mail in my inbox and opened the attachment. I was just about to the scan the documents until he rested my hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him again and he had his lips set into a straight line.

"Don't worry about the documents now. You can handle that first thing tomorrow morning. Please forward that e-mail and go home. Sorry to keep you so late." With that, he reached for the briefcase on his desk and walked by with the nod of his head. I waved back at him and heaved a deep sigh after he turned the corner heading towards the glass doors that lead to elevators. I forwarded the e-mail as he said before shutting off my computer. I rose to my feet and pulled my purse from the bottom drawer under my desk. From there, I grabbed my cell phone and noticed a few missed calls and a text message from my boyfriend Robert. I smiled in spite of myself. Robert and I have been together for the last four years and I couldn't have been happier.

The last couple of months have been tough due to me spending more time at work. Despite the fact,

I was confident that we would surpass this little bump in the road. I pulled up the text message from him asking me to call him as soon as I left the office. I slipped my phone back into my purse, locked up my drawer and headed towards the elevators.

As I pushed through doors leading to the garage, I felt my phone vibrating in my purse. Looking at the caller ID, Robert's name appeared on the screen with a display picture of a 'selfie' with him making a face as I'm laughing next to him. I swipe the screen and answer the call in a sing-song voice.

"Hey." He greeted, sounding deadpan. "Are you on your way home, yet?"

I faltered in my steps before responding rather cautiously. "I just left the office. Sorry, it's been a crazy day. Apparently Edward wants us to –."

"Look I need to talk to you; can I meet you at your house in twenty minutes?" He interrupted in his deadpan tone. I pulled my phone away from my ear in disbelief and looked at the call display one more time to confirm it was him.

"Uh, sure." I said my voice a little uneasy. "See you then. I love you."

"Yeah, see you then." And with that, the call ended.

I pouted as I stared at my phone. I was astonished at how that conversation went about. Something must be up and I couldn't fathom what it could be. I ran the last few weeks in my mind while driving home trying to figure it out. The only thing that could come to mind was with me being a little busy at the office, but Robert is in real estate and with spring around the corner, he had been caught up at work himself. Still, regardless as to how hard as it was to see each other during the week, we always made time on the weekends. I shook it off and tried my best to weave through Toronto traffic which was still busy but wasn't as bad on a weekday evening down Yonge St.

When I arrived home, I was able to park in my usual spot on a small side street near my house. I lived on the right side of a quaint semi-detached home with a small porch painted white with a simple lawn that was still recovering from the winter. The front door was opened indicating that Robert was already inside. I pulled open the screen door and announced my arrival as I pulled off my black suede heels and hung my jacket with my purse. I looked down and noticed his duffle bag on the floor that he would normally take to the gym. I frowned at it and padded my way down the hall towards the kitchen where the light was on.

There, I found Robert sitting on one of the bar stools next to the island in the center of the room. I leaned against the door frame and observed him briefly. His shoulders were hunched over and his head slightly bowed down as he twirled his cell phone between his index finger and the counter top. Normally when he would spend the night at my house, he would still be dressed immaculately in one of his suits with his blazer laying on the counter in a half hazard manner. This time he was in a pair of dark washed jeans and a sweater. His dark hair was still slick from a shower and no evidence of dinner was made.

As if finally sensing my presence, Robert turned his head to me and smiled half heartedly. My own heart sank at the sight of him. He had a troubled look on his face and he didn't look me in the eye. He didn't even raise from his seat to greet me with a bear hug as he normally would. I took a deep breath and braced myself as I slowly made my way to the island and sat down on the stool next to his. He watched my every move until I sat next to him before continuing to play with his cell phone again.

"Hey," I greeted, voice slightly above a whisper.

"Hey." He replied, eyes on his phone and tone matching my own.

"Is everything ok? You sounded so strange on the phone." I leaned into him so I could hear him better. But he only straightened himself on the seat, forcing me to do the same.

"I… I really needed to talk to you about something." he said, eyes still not meeting mine.

"Did something happen at work? Why is there a duffle bag at the door?" I asked, staring at the side of his face, urging him to look at me. Robert continued staring down at the counter.

"Work is fine. Things are picking up now, actually." His voice was monotone and he was aimlessly swiping between app pages on his phone and ignored my other question. I put my hand over his to cover his phone and force him to look at me, which he finally did. He withdrew his hand from mine and from there I saw that his eyes were red and hooded. He did not look like the carefree Robert I knew. Something was definitely wrong.

"Robert, what's wrong? Did you get kicked out of your apartment?" I reached up to cup his face in my hands and he cringed away from me. I didn't know whether to feel sad or upset. He was rejecting any advance of contact I made towards him.

"I didn't get kicked out, Vivian." I flinched at his response. It was rare for him to call me by my full name. He would always refer to me as Vee. At this point I knew something was desperately wrong and I was losing him right in front of me.

"Baby, if this is about me being late from work, I-"

"Stop talking!" He exclaimed. He looked me in the eye then; his piercing green eyes met my brown ones. I'd always admired his eyes and how they were always filled with love or wonder. Now they were filled with anguish.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, searching my worried expression. "I can't… I can't do this anymore."

I scoffed at his comment and looked at him like he was crazy. I raised from the stool shaking my head and ran my fingers through my chestnut hair and pulling slightly at the base of my ponytail. I began to pace on the spot, a nervous habit I had to keep my wits in tact.

"What do you mean, 'I can't do this anymore'? What the hell happened?! I thought-"

"There's someone else." He interrupted me again. He stood up and faced me standing a head taller than me. Anguish was erased from his features. Now there was only determination. My eyes widened and I stared at him for a moment in shock and he did not falter or look away. I scoffed again and shook my head incredulously.

"I don't understand." It was all I could manage to say. He began to speak very quickly and started pacing himself.

"I met her four months ago during my business trip to Vancouver. She was representing the branch over there and-"

"Please." I rose my hand and looked away and stopped in my tracks. It was my turn to interrupt. "So what you are trying to say is that you are destroying a four year relationship over some chick you met in Vancouver?" I looked back at him to face his answer.

"Vivian…" he began. He sucked in a gulp of air and swallowed before continuing, "She's pregnant."

At that point, the world around me went black. I stared blankly ahead of me in a trance. When I recovered, my face and neck heated up and I slammed my fists on his chest until he was able to grasp my wrists and tell me that it was only a matter of time. He said held on for as long as he could because he didn't want to hurt me. He'd lost his feelings for me earlier that year and stayed only on the account that he hoped things would get better. He wasn't going to tell me about the girl at all because he felt he would try to see where his feelings would lead. Once he came back to Toronto, he continued seeing her every so often during the week which explain his absenteeism. He had just found out about the pregnancy earlier that week and only had the courage to end our relationship now that he's made his decision.

At that point, I couldn't hear anymore. I threw his jacket at him and pushed him down the hallway towards the door. I couldn't bare to look at his face in fear I would stoop myself low enough and beg him to stay with me. I shoved him out the front door and threw his duffle bag onto the pavement knowing by then it was already filled with his things from my bedroom upstairs. He walked down the path of my front lawn and across the street to his parked Honda Civic and got into the car without looking back. I didn't matter anyway, I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing the look on my face as my heart shattered onto my front porch.

I slammed the door with all my might and tossed articles on my coffee table across the room. The pillows on my couch went along with it causing a crystal vase to fall off the dinning room table and shatter on the ground. I collapsed onto my cream coloured couch slammed my fists weakly and began to sob right then.

I lost the only person that I ever saw myself with. What else could possibly go wrong?


End file.
